Tea and Yellow Teeth

I pretty much don’t exist without a cup of black tea. But, my teeth are yellowing. What do you do to prevent this? I have super sensitive teeth and white strips kill me. I’m gonna start drinking through a straw. :S

If your teeth are already yellow you should see your dentist first.
Rinsing water right after drinking tea will help, but remember that pretty much any beverage with a strong color or that is acidic will tend to stain your teeth.

I use an electric toothbrush, and I find that helps significantly to keep my teeth from staining. I also use crest whitening toothpaste which I find is not too hard on the teeth. You can look at other brands designed for sensitive teeth, like sensodyne whiteneing toothpaste.

An electric toothbrush was the best investment I ever made. I have always had good teeth, but I was a little heavy handed with a manual brush. So my dentist suggested an electric. I haven’t looked back since.

Aside from unfortunate staining, has anyone else noticed that drinking lots of tea has made their teeth extra sensitive?

I have ramped up my tea consumption over the last few weeks, and the other day I had some frozen yogurt at this new place in town and it was SOOOO painful! I mean my teeth were just tingling like crazy. In fairness, before that I had been drinking tea from Davidstea at the mall, but now when I drink something really cold I notice my teeth start to hurt a bit. I’m sure it must be from all the hot liquids I’ve been drinking lately.

Yes, I noticed this too when I first really started drinking a ton of tea! I got a tube of Sensodyne, and by the end of that tube I was fine and switched back to my normal toothpaste. I think it just takes awhile for teeth to get used to all of the cups of piping hot tea!

I have found that when I drink a ton of hot tea my teeth and mouth are sensitive to cold, but if I stop drinking hot tea and eating more cold things, it reverts. Also, the more hot tea I drink, the hotter the beverage can be without causing discomfort or burning. It’s strange.

I’ve never had teeth sensitivity to tea, and I’ve been drinking tea for 30yrs.; but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t affect others. Funny you should mention the whitening strips. I started to use them last year and love the results. However, this last time I bought the box of Crest 3D as usual but it was a “twice a day for 7 days” treatment. Not my first choice but they were out of what I have been buying and it was on sale. YOWSA! My teeth were fine until later in the afternoon and they hurt right up til late evening before bed. Thank goodness the pain stopped then. Apparently, it’s the hydrogen peroxide that can be too strong sometimes. I stopped the treatment, that was a week and a half ago, and just this morning attempted the recommended 30min. again. No pain this time – I drank hot tea around 2:30p – it’s 6:45p and two of my teeth are tingling and not in a good way!

My aunt is a dentist and she said that the white strip temporarily dehydrate your teeth and that’s what causes the sensitivity. It’s not damaging and will go away, but it certainly is annoying to deal with!

A 2004 study at Pace University, USA, discovered that white tea extract may help slow viruses and bacterial growth. This means that it reduces the incidence of staphylococcus and streptococcus infections, thus lowering the risks of developing pneumonia, fungus growth, and even dental plaque.
“Past studies have shown that green tea stimulates the immune system to fight disease. Our research shows white tea extract can actually destroy in vitro the organisms that cause disease. Study after study with tea extract proves that it has many healing properties. This is not an old wives tale, it’s a fact.” says Milton Schiffenbauer , PhD at Pace University and the main author of the study.
Here’s the source article: http://www.pace.edu/emplibrary/Dyson_News_Fall04.pdf

I can tell you how to make your teeth WHITE but its terrible for your teeth because it removes the enamel. However if in a pinch, and you really NEED white teeth, you can do it every great great once in a while. Say on a day you are going to an important event, or having family photos taken, etc. Again I do NOT recommend this but it works.
Lemon Juice – the real stuff, (this is the acidic part that is bad for your teeth) baking soda … brush. Just mix the two together.
Again this is bad for your teeth as it removes enamel and we are only born with so much of that stuff and once it is gone its gone for good.

I have noticed my teeth sometimes look stained right after drinking black tea. If I’m not able to brush my teeth at the time, what I do is either eat an apple or chew some sugar-free gum afterward. It seems to remove the stain pretty well.

One other thing to consider if your teeth may get discoloured from the toothpaste/rinse you are using. Some products such as Crest ProHealth can actually cause yellow or brown staining of your teeth. It is something to do with how it kills the plaque bacteria, then the plaque bacteria turns brown on your teeth.